BJD eyes another big win

Bhubaneswar: Riding on the flagship social welfare schemes, and with a strong loyal women voter base, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) is eyeing for a smooth sailing in the general elections, as well as the Assembly polls, scheduled next year.

The regional party registered a landslide victory during the three-tier Panchayati Raj elections last year, proving its supremacy. The party won 766 of the 852 Zilla Parishad seats with a vote share of 52.73 per cent. It also acquired 95 out of 108 municipalities and notified area councils in the urban local body polls in 2022.

“The BJD is engaged in the service of the people throughout the year. The party, under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, has worked dedicatedly to fulfil the commitments it made in the manifesto for the 2019 elections. So, our party is ready to face elections anytime, and we are confident to win this time too,” said senior BJD leader and former minister Samir Ranjan Dash. He said the party has set the target to increase the seat tally from 112 in 2019 to 130 in 2024.

The party has also tuned into election mode by launching several people-oriented schemes like Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha, LAccMI and Nua-O. Ama Odisha Nabin Odisha scheme aims at augmenting rural digital infrastructure and preservation of cultural heritage sites and temples in rural Odisha. Similarly, the party hopes to further strengthen its rural stronghold by offering affordable transport facilities through the LAccMI scheme.

The government is also likely to announce several other big-ticket projects like irrigation projects in the run-up to the general elections in 2024. Besides, the party hopes to gain substantially from the success of its flagship programmes like Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, Srimandir Parikrama Project, renovation of major temples and heritage spots across the State.

The State urban local bodies and panchayat elections held last year proved that the traditional women vote bank has also remained intact with the ruling party.

“One of the biggest reasons for BJD’s exceptional electoral success is its strong support base among the female voters through the women self-help groups under the aegis of the Mission Shakti department,” political analyst and veteran journalist Rabi Das said.

Political analysts also point out several drawbacks which may spell trouble for the BJD in the general elections. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress will leave no stone unturned to corner the ruling party by raking up issues such as non-Odia leadership and tribal land rights. It is being widely speculated that ex-IAS officer V K Pandian may succeed CM Patnaik.

“The party may see internal conflicts either before the elections or after that over transfer of baton to V K Pandian, a non-Odia,” said Rabi Das.

The experts opined that the simmering internal discontent over the issue is suppressed under the fear of losing power. Meanwhile, the succession plan was reportedly put on hold following Opposition raising a hue and cry over the issue of an outsider being at the helm of affairs.

A former bureaucrat, Pandian, who recently joined the ruling BJD after taking voluntary retirement from service, announced during the State executive body meeting of BJD that he will not contest the upcoming elections and serve the party under Naveen. The Opposition parties are also planning to target the BJD over tribal land rights issues. The BJD came under severe backlash after the Cabinet gave nod to allow the sale of tribal land to non-tribals in the State’s Scheduled areas in November. The government later reversed the decision and sent back the proposal to the Tribal Advisory Committee for review amid sharp

criticism from the Opposition parties.